Saturday, August 6, 2011

Mustard

By Diane Forrest

Along with National Root Beer Float Day, it is also National Mustard day. I think one of my favorite things with mustard is a hot dog with a line of bright yellow mustard right down the center. That would really go great with a root beer float! The first time mustard was placed in a line on top of a hot dog was at the 1904 St. Louis World's fair when it was introduced by French's Company.

Mustard is a condiment made from the seed of a mustard plant. There is a verse in the Bible, Mathew 17:20 that says, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." The small seeds are ground to a powder before being made into mustard.

There are many different types of mustard, but perhaps the most famous or recognizable in the United States is the yellow mustard. It was first developed in 1904 by Mr. George French, and is associated with hot dogs, hamburgers, sandwiches as well as dressings, barbeque sauces and other types of dipping sauces.

Other types of mustard include:

Brown/deli style mustard

Dijon Mustard

Sweet Mustard

Spicy Mustard

I can recall my father telling me about mustard plasters his mother used to fix when he was a child. Back in the day, dry ground mustard was mixed into a paste and was applied to cloths and placed on the chest or back for the treatment of colds. A typical mustard plaster recipe includes powdered mustard (amounts vary from recipe to recipe) and flour combined with water or egg white. This is then spread on a layer of cotton or flannel cloth and placed on the body. Some old sources suggest that the mustard powder be blended with egg white rather than water to prevent blistering of the skin. He said they never helped him...and it was just a sticky mess...but it was something that was done when you had a cold, so that was that.

My husband used to love honey mustard dipping sauce. Whenever I made fried chicken nuggets, I would mix up a batch for him, it wasn't hard, just a few squirts of mustard along with some squirts of honey. You can fix your own according to your own taste.

I like mustard on sandwiches and hamburgers next to my cheese. It seems to bring out the taste of the cheese better than when you put mayonnaise next to it.

So today, as we celebrate Mustard....have a hot dog and a root beer float and have a good day.